Anyone who sews knows how important it is to have a good quality dress form. Unfortunately, they can run about $300.00 and finding a good used one is virtually impossible. I’ve had one of those old adjustable acme forms for years. It was horrible to work with. You could never pin it. The form always collapsed. It was a real mess.
After searching Craigslist, Ebay and the local paper, I finally gave up. A form was either nonexistent or just not in my price range. Back to the Acme form…but not without some improvements first.
In this post I’ll show you how I transformed the dreaded adjustable form into a beautiful size 6 (almost) professional form.
You’ll need:
- A used dress form smaller than the size you will need.
- 100% cotton batting like they use in quilts
- polyester batting
- two or more shoulder pads (depending how busty you need)
- thick thread
- pins
- a small curved upholstery needle
- cotton muslin or fine weave linen
- glue gun
- tape measure
- sewing machine
- pinking shears
You can search your local antique shops, garage sales, thrift stores and online shops and usually come up with a really inexpensive used adjustable form. Now, you’ll have to give up the functionality of an adjustable form but as you all know, it doesn’t really work all that well anyway. Either take your measurements or find the industry standard. Adjust your form to an inch smaller on all the measurements. Really tighten the wing nuts so they cannot be moved. Wrap a layer of the polyester batting around the waist and hips securing into place with pins. Use the upholstery needle to baste it into place. Take your shoulder pads, turn them upside down and pin them over the bust. The shape is the perfect contour of a bust. Use your tape measure and yourself to make sure they’re not to high from your shoulder seam to the bust point. If you need more padding either use another set of shoulder pads or some of the polyester batting. Stitch into place.
Next you’ll want to cover the entire form in the cotton batting. This will take some time and patience. Start with the bust. The cotton batting can be stretched and manipulated into shape. You will need to sew in bust darts from under the arms to the bust point. Cut away the excess fabric.
Stitch all the edges down to secure. Stitch down the center forming a valley and under each breast to give more shape. Wrap a layer of the cotton batting around the form tightly from under the bust, covering the polyester batting. There will be a second layer so this one doesn’t have to be the most even just make sure it’s snug. For the second layer cut two pieces just wide enough for each to go half way around the form and long enough to go from just under the bust to the bottom of the form with a few inches left over to wrap under and glue. Secure the center of the batting to the center of the form with pins starting under the bust and working your way down the center to the bottom. Smooth and stretch the cotton over the sides until each side is pinned and the form looks smooth.
Trim the cotton batting then stitch into place.
When each side is completely stitched all the way around it should start to resemble a professional form. Time to get the glue gun and glue the batting to the underside of the form. Remember to pull the batting tight around the edge to create a smooth form. The batting might need notching (cuts ) at the arm holes to create a smooth line and then glued securely.
Next is the final layer, the cover. Find the grain of your fabric and draw a line (using the grain as your guide) down the center of the piece you will use for the front. Draw a line that crosses the center line for the bust guide. Draw the same guide lines for the back piece. Pin the fabric to the front of the form using the center line as a guide. Start with the top center and work your way down keeping the fabric centered and pulled smooth. Next pull the fabric over the hips and pin. Wrap the fabric over the bust and pin under the arms. Create darts at the waist and bust with the loose fabric.
Remove the pins securing it to the form and sew the darts on the machine. Make sure to reverse stitch the darts so the don’t unravel. Use pinking shears to trim darts to a 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn over and re-secure to the form very snugly. Trim the excess leaving about 1 1/2″ – 2″ selvage. Repeat with the back just doing the waist darts (no bust).
Fold the fabric over to create a smooth seam pinning frequently. Make this as tight and smooth as possible.
Using small stitches, sew the sides closed. Repeat the same procedure at the shoulder seams leaving seam allowance around the neck.
Finally, When all the seams are done, take a piece of fabric, wrap it around the neck turning under the seam allowance then stitch into place. Glue the fabric to the underside of the form at the armholes and base. Put the form back on the stand and…Viola’, you’re done. Enjoy your now pinable dress form.
Re-couture 